Island



tlntrd tant JOHN L. CLARK, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

Letters Patent No. 90,426, dated May 25,' 1869.

I1VIPRO'V'ED CCRPSE-PRESERVER.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom tt may conce/m Be it known that I, JOHN L. CLARK, of the city of Providence, in the county of Providence, and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and improved Corpse-Preserver; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will `enabi'e others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which- Y v Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section of my improved corpse-preserver.

Figure 2 is a plan or top view, without the cover of the same. i.

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section of the same. Similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new corpse-preserver, which is so constructed and arranged that the ice will be prevented from melting rapidly, and that the dead body will be surrounded by constantly-circulating cold air.

The invention consists, first, in the general arrangement -and construction of parts, the main feature being,

that the body is laid upon a perforated plate, and not into a box, as usual, the box` being, in this case, put over it, when it (the body) has been properly placed upon said plate.

The invention consists, also, in surrounding the sides ofthe box or case with felt or other non-conductor of heat, so that the ice in the box Will be longer pre served.

A, in the drawing, represents the main bottom plate of my improved eorpse-preserver. It is of suitable size and shape, and has a groove or depression formed in its surface, near the outer edge, to collect therein liquid matter, and to receive the lower edges of the box B.

The box B, made of wood or metal, of suitable size, and provided. with a removable cover, O, is placed upon the plate A. f

In the box B is a roofshaped plate,- D, dividing it into two chambers, as shown, and inclined, to be higher above the head of the body;

The upper chamber, above the roof D, and under the cover O, is to receive the ice;

From the roof D projects a suitable number of pipes, a c, into the ice-chamber. They are open at bot-h ends, to let the cold air pass down to the body.

There is also a larger opening, b, in the plate D, under a glass pane, c, of the cover O, to allow the head of the corpse to be seen.

The corpse is placed upon a perforated plate, E, which is, by means of cleats d, supported on and elevated above the bott-om, A. When properly placed, it is covered bythe box, and ice is placed into the upper chamber of the latter. The cold air will pass, through the pipes a, into the lower chamber ot' the box, enveloping the body, and thereby preserving the same from decay.

The moisture collected in the lower chamber dows to the groove of the plate A, and escapes through an aperture, e.

The water in the upper chamber, from the melting ice, escapes through a pipe or pipes, f.

The sides of the box are protected by a felt or other outer covering, F, which is a bad heat-conductor, to preserve the ice.

Having thus described my invention,

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

l. A corpse-preserver so constructed that the box is detachable from the bottom, A, so that the body may be laid out on the perforated plate E, which rests on the bott-om, without requiring it to be at once placed into the box, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination ofthe separate bottom, A, and

perforated plate E, with the box B, surrounded by felt,

the cover O, and roof-shaped partit-ion D, the latter having the air-pipes a, all constructed and arranged substantiallyv as herein shown and described.

Y JOHN L. CLARK.

Witnesses:

DAVID A. GLEAVELAND, Assuan S. HAwKINs. 

